Join me "inside the pack" as I run in road races, trail races, and mountain races–including classics such as the Boston Marathon and Mt. Washington Road Race. Action photos and HD videos put you in the thick of a new race each week! (Yes, I take these photos AS I RUN.)

Category Archives: Lexington

The Genesis Battlegreen Run is somewhat-hilly road race through the historic town where armed Americans first stood up to the British army, firing the “Shot Heard Round the World” at the Lexington Battle Green.

The race has two courses–a 5K and a 10K. Both courses feature hills that make a PR unlikely…and both bring the runners past the Lexington Battle Green.

After the race, local restaurants reward the runners with excellent sandwiches, pizza, pasta, salads, and other fare–some of the best post-race food to be found anywhere.

Come! Run with me now…

(I took this photo, and the others below, while running.)

That was just a few snapshots, to give a you a taste. Now, come experience the entire race!

There are two ways to do this:

1) you can peruse a photo gallery on Facebook (tagging yourself and your friends)…

or…

2) you can immerse yourself in a full-screen HD video!

Photo Gallery on Facebook

You can view the entire race in a photo gallery on Facebook. (To tag yourself or your friends in these photos, first press “LIKE” on the the Run with KenFacebook page. Then, as a fan of “Run with Ken,” you can tag yourself or your friends in these photos!)

The Genesis Battlegreen Run in Lexington, MA offers runners a challenging 5K or 10K course through one of the most historic towns in America…

…and then rewards us with some of the best post-race food you will find at any race.

Come! Run with me now…

(I took this photo, and the others below, while running.)

All right! Let’s get to the good stuff–an HD video that puts you right in the middle of this race. Go ahead! Click the ‘Play’ button below. (And be sure to view the video in Full-Screen, so you’ll see the race in panoramic, high-resolution.)

Were you at this race–and if so, what did you like best about it? What could be improved?

(If you weren’t there, I hope these photos and HD video gave you a taste of the race…and I hope I’ll see you at a race next week.)

I didn’t run at all last week. Just a mountain race on Sunday, which was (to be brutally candid) a power-walk with occasional episodes of jogging. The heat, which topped 100 degrees several times during the week, kept me inert. But on Friday evening Hurricane Earl came and went, leaving deliciously cool dry air in its wake, and this morning an unexpected errand found me driving near the Minuteman Bikepath in Lexington, so I decided to run.

No running shoes in my car, but I didn’t care. Figured I’d barefoot it for a half a mile or so, then turn around and feel some satisfaction from getting in even a short run.

So I stepped gingerly onto the bikepath and started jogging. I was worried that my feet might feel tender after more than two weeks of NOT running barefoot, but they felt fine. The bikepath has mile markers, and when I’d run one mile I felt so good I decided to keep going. Then, after two miles I turned around and headed back.

My first two miles were not fast. Just a 10-minute pace. But I didn’t care. I was soaking in the green of the trees and the coolness of the shade. Just enjoying the sweet feeling of running outdoors—barefoot—under a gorgeous sky.

When I started running back I heard some runner’s footsteps hammering up behind me. Fast! Obviously he was going to pass me in a few yards. Don’t know why, but for some reason this flipped a switch in my brain. (Or maybe not my brain. Maybe it flipped a switch much lower—down at the base of my spine. The lizard brain.) Anyway, my legs started rotating and those footsteps stayed 8 or 10 feet behind me. Every few seconds I’d hear them get louder and closer, and then my legs would speed up and the footsteps would fade back.

After a while the footsteps were accompanied by breathing. That’s never a good sign: when other runners can hear your breathing. It made me think: maybe I can keep this guy back.

I decided to hold him off for as long as I could. I was going all-out, and he was right behind me. Maybe close enough to touch me…but he hadn’t passed me yet. Just hold him back.

My first two miles were a smell-the-roses, be-happy-you’re-outside jaunt…but now I found myself in a Duel with this guy. (Not that he knew, or cared. I’m sure this was only in my own mind.) But the thought of that foot-pounding phantom on my tail drove me at a terrific pace. I had run my first 2.25 miles at a 10-minute pace…but now I was barefootin’ at 8:48 per mile. Fast enough to keep that guy behind me…until I couldn’t hear his footsteps, or his breathing, any more.

What a run! When I reached my car I looked back. I wanted to see this guy, maybe thank him for pushing me, but minutes passed before any runners came along, and then I had no idea which of them might be the one who had kicked me into high gear. So I just sat on a rock and let the breeze cool me down.

Here are photos I took while running the Genesis Battlegreen Run in Lexington, MA. The course has one significant hill, but the grade was not daunting and the foliage was beautiful (despite a strong windstorm the day before).

The “Battlegreen Run” is two races: a 5K and a 10K. I ran the 5K with about 250 others…and an equal number ran the 10K. Both races took us past the “Birthplace of American Liberty”–

the Lexington “Battlegreen”

–where, just after dawn on April 19, 1775, a handful of Americans stood against an overwhelming number of British Regulars (the “Redcoats”) in the first armed resistance to the American Crown. This was The Shot Heard Round the World. Seven Americans died that morning, and a nation was born.

Our race was far less dramatic. Just a few hundred runners romping through a cool Fall day, and then enjoying the very fine post-race food provided by the race sponsors.

I ran with a camera, and took pictures as I ran. (Yes, I took photos as I ran. I didn’t stop or slow down. After all, I was in a race!) If you click on the “Play” button below, you can view my slideshow, and get a first-person experience of the